About the Editors
Editor-in-Chief
Sari Krosinsky lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her partner and two cats.
She received a B.A. in religious studies and a M.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico. Her poems have appeared in Pebble Lake Review, The American Poetry Journal, Arsenic Lobster, The Same and Verse Daily.
Fiction Editor
Leslie Fox lived in Central America during her formative years and in New Mexico since the mid-70s – before it was cool.
She writes novels, short stories, plays, screenplays and creative nonfiction. Some of her short fiction has appeared in The Medical Muse, red. a journal of arts, Earth’s Daughters and Earthships: A New Mecca Poetry Collection. She has a M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico.
Fickle Muses Blog
April 14, 2007
In Greek mythology, wood nymphs: Dryads, Meliai, and their many variations, though a divinity, died when the tree they inhabit died. Daphne, a nymph, was transformed into a Laurel tree in an attempt to escape Apollo’s unwanted advances. Trees often appear in folklore as anthropomorphic: speaking, bleeding, and having desires. It may simply be that they resemble us with arm-like appendages, knotty eyes, and leaves instead of hair. When the mortal, Erysichthon, began to chop a tree down, the Hamadryad that lived in the tree cried out. When Demeter found out about the crime, she punished Erysichthon for killing the Hamadryad in her sacred oak grove.
I found a cool Web site depicting photographs of the human form posed artistically with a series of imposing trees. It’s called The Tree Spirit Project at: http://jackphoto.com/images/tree/Mission.html. The humans are not the focus of the images – the trees are. I found it interesting that seeing people and trees together like this, the similarities become more obvious; the humans are more, for lack of a better word, “tree-like.” We usually think of trees as having human characteristics, not the other way around – reminding us that we are nature too.
– Leslie Fox
April 12, 2007
A few weeks ago, I sent FM to a site that selectively lists and reviews various sorts of indie publications (which I won’t name, since I’m about to say nasty things about it, and it is on the whole a good resource). Now, had the editors declined to link to FM because they thought it sucked, I would have disagreed, but at least understood. However, the reason they gave for turning it down was because FM isn’t formatted like a traditional print journal (despite the fact that this was for a section of Web journals).
As I see it, content should be adapted differently to suit different media. For example, when adapting a book to film, narration might take on a different but equally effective expression through an actor’s body language (one good example is Roger Michell’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”). Likewise, the logic behind FM’s format (which I went into in more detail in a January post) is rooted in the medium.
The publishing industry is still largely geared toward print. Though certainly more people are realizing the potential of online publishing, resistance to Web-adapted formats seems to me much like the early film industry’s tendency to format movies as if they were stage plays.
While the Web isn’t exactly new, there’s still plenty of room to experiment with its possibilities, especially in the literary realm. Some journals, for example, use the medium to blend music, poetry and art – a feat beyond the capabilities of the average piece of paper. I say experiment away – the gatekeepers of industry tradition will catch up eventually.
– Sari
April 11, 2007
Trees appear in myths and legends around the world, often suggesting a point of connection between mere mortals and the divine. In the Western tradition, we are familiar with wood nymphs, primarily the story of Daphne and Apollo, however, an African tale tells a similar story about a woman turned into a tree. In Celtic myths, you’ll find the Holly King. In Buddhism, Buddha became enlightened under a Bhodi tree. India has many myths surrounding trees, originating in a deep veneration for trees and sacred forests. One of the five trees in Indra’s paradise grants abundance. The iconic image of a serpent guarding a tree appears in Sumerian art. Cherry blossoms in Japanese folktales are a significant reminder of the transient quality of life. The ash tree in Norse sagas draws knowledge from a magic spring. I found a Web site listing folktales and myths concerning trees from all over the globe: Africa, China, Europe and more. Just go to: http://www.spiritoftrees.org/folktales/featured_tales.html
– Leslie Fox
April 5, 2007
According to Joseph Campbell, there are three phases to the hero’s journey in all great mythological stories: Separation, Initiation and Return. Looking at the novel I’ve recently started, I can see that the three phases are in place – I did this subconsciously. My character receives a call (literally), goes on the road where she goes through several rites of passage, and then returns home a stronger woman. What if my character didn’t come home or never left home in the first place – would I have a story? I’ve read that there has to be trouble for a story to happen. I suppose my character could get the call and let the machine pick it up – just stay home wondering what would have happened had she gone on the journey; watch American Idol and eat Sara Lee cheesecake. Not much of a story, I admit.
Years ago, I was working on a story about a rabid dog (I know, I know). I was trying to figure out which of my characters should shoot the dog, when I was introduced to The Writer’s Journey, by Christopher Vogler, based on Campbell’s philosophy. From Vogler’s list of archetypes, I could spot my hero, mentor, trickster, etc. According to Vogler, it was the hero who should face death as initiation – how could I have missed it? When I sent the story to an editor, she said it was cliché (imagine!). I’ve realized since then, that my hero did not have to “shoot the dog” to go through an initiation. Often an inner conflict is a more dramatically satisfying rite of passage than a spectacular one.
– Leslie Fox
March 2007 entries
February 2007 entries
January 2007 entries